Traquer L'étoile
by I Love Snuffles
Summary: SB/JP??? Sirius's childhood......... with a twist. prequel to my story 'L'ombre Suit la Lumière' which hasn't been posted yet.
1. Part One

A/N: I LOVE SNUFFLES!!!!!!  
  
Summary: Yes, it's another 'The Story Of Sirius's Past' stories! WARNING it contains some spoilers for the fifth book. But because I am NOT I repeat NOT happy about the ending of the fifth book, we'll just leave that out, shall we? I mean, this is about the Marauders. I think that it may be SB/JP I dunno yet. You tell me. oh, and even though it says that Sirius had a younger brother Regulus, I'm giving him a twin sister Tome. Pronounced "TOE- MAY". Problem with that? then don't read. IN FACT, to hell with the fifth book. I doubt I'm following it in the least. Because I don't have the ability to use italics, underlined, or bold, I'm going to use /slashes/ to represent italics. Therefore that would be thoughts, dreams, emphasizing a word... /understand?/  
  
Chapter One [or is it the prologue?]  
  
"Sirius?"  
  
Tome looked around, pushing the door to her brother's room open. "I got accepted at two schools! Sirius, Où êtes-vous?"  
  
She frowned, looking around for hr twin. She knew he was around here somewhere...  
  
SPLASH  
  
Tome screamed at the top of her lungs when the bucket of ice-cold water above her tipped and soaked her. She windmilled her arms to keep the letters in each one from getting wet. "YOU BUTTHEAD! THAT WAS COMPLETELY UNCALLED FOR!!!" She howled.  
  
Her brother dropped down from where he had been barely holding on to the shelf above his door. Or, more likely, he fell down because he was laughing so hard.  
  
Tome and Sirius weren't necessarily identical, even though they were twins (Sirius born first). For example, the said "big brother" was more slim, due to purposes that will be explained later, his hair was shorter, not exactly relevant, his eyes were really more black then bright shining blue like Tome's, and he was a bit taller.  
  
"You prat! Just listen to me, will you? Argh, you're such a, a, a ruddy bastar-"  
  
"Hey, no swearing," Sirius snapped, regaining his footing and voice. They glared at each other for a moment. "SO, you got accepted into two schools, huh?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
"Well, I know that one is Beauxbatons. Is the other Durmstrang or Hogwarts?"  
  
"Neither! Mum's old school, the one she went to!"  
  
"Eh?" Sirius took the first letter from his sister. Sighing, he took the second, and blinked. "Oh. Gakusoku? That's neat."  
  
There was a moment of silence, in which Tome allowed her brother to read the first letter, which was in French, then the second letter, which was in Japanese.  
  
"Impressive," he said at last, handing both back. "Which one are you going to go to?"  
  
"That's what I was going to ask you." Tome looked around, than dropped her voice. "I wanted to know which one I should go to, right? I mean, you didn't get a letter from either, so you're obviously going to Durmstrang or Hogwarts, right?"  
  
"Yeah," Sirius glanced around, then ushered his sister out of the bedroom doorway.  
  
Currently, both were in an orphanage. A big one at that, on the second floor. The first floor was for girls only, and the second for boys. The third was for the babies and infants and toddlers and stuff, the fourth was for the adults, the fifth was a large play room, the sixth had the classrooms and held lessons, and the seventh... wasn't necessarily a floor, it was the roof, more likely. With a glass dome on top, and lots of plants.  
  
Currently, all of the kids were either having lessons, in their rooms (once they turned ten, they got their own rooms - very small, cramped, and uncomfortable, but their own rooms all the same), or on the seventh floor.  
  
Which was why Sirius was ushering his sister up to the fifth, where all of the voices and noise would save them the trouble of being heard.  
  
Whenever somebody got a letter, it was given to them. If they were ten or older, that was. Others had to have their letters read first. And rarely anybody ever got mail at all. This was an orphanage after all.  
  
Sirius's and Tome's parents... their father had been an auror, but a few years ago had been killed. Both kids were only babies, though, so they didn't really care that much. Their mother had never mentioned anything about their father. She had been French, but went to a Japanese school. Thus, she taught both of her children how to read and write both. Then, just two years ago, she had told them she was going away forever, and left them at the orphanage.  
  
It was a muggle orphanage, and both Tome and Sirius knew that they would be going to a magic school. Right? They were pure bloods. Their mother had never written them, so after many shed tears, they chose to think she was dead.  
  
Out loud, that was.  
  
Inwardly, both vowed to look and find her when they graduated.  
  
"Sirius, we'll be separated," Tome whimpered once they had their own little corner in the playroom. It was filled with kids of all ages, all of whom knew better than to approach the "new kids" who weren't technically "new."  
  
"It'll only be for a year, and we'll see each other at summer."  
  
"It's still a long time to be away from each other."  
  
"Don't worry. Right now we need to see which school you're going to be going to."  
  
"Ah, right."  
  
They both sat in silence, staring at the letters.  
  
"Well, which one would you go to, if it was your choice?" Tome asked softly at last.  
  
"Oh, I dunno. They're both pretty good schools, right?"  
  
"Be serious!"  
  
"I am!"  
  
Tome gave an exasperated sigh. "This is serious."  
  
"No, *I* am serious."  
  
"Sirius. Please."  
  
Sirius sighed. "Well, I'd want to stay close to you, which would be Beauxbatons, but I'd also want to go to mum's school. Her account is there and everything, and she's got friends I think."  
  
There was a moment of silence.  
  
"Then I suppose... I reckon I'd like to go to Gakusoku. I mean, like you said, I bet mum had some friends and stuff..."  
  
"Good. So, let's see here," Sirius took the letter from the said school, then the envelope, and went through the papers. "For you, school starts in July and ends in May. That means you only get June off, that sucks. Right, so, you take a portkey - that'll be interesting, never used one of those before - to a station and take an under ground train there with the other students... and here is your list."  
  
"I can't read kanji very well, what about that?"  
  
"Oh, you look English enough, I'm sure they'll be nice and do kana and such... tell you what, I'll learn for you, then I'll teach you more and more with each letter I send, how about that?"  
  
"Okay. Err, how am I going to get to the portkey?"  
  
"Simple enough... just take another one... we'll find one in that one place. What's it called? Leaky cauldron, I can't remember. Besides, you've only got a week to get there..."  
  
"A week? Oh no, how AM I going to get there? This place is all muggles, and we can't just ask one of our nannies to take us to some magical place!"  
  
"Calm down, Tome. I've already worked this out. We'll run away."  
  
"Run away?"  
  
"Yeah. I can get a room until I get accepted into a school, and we'll get somebody to set up a portkey for you to get to... what was it? Yamato?"  
  
"Tokyo."  
  
"Oh, yeah. The characters both look the same."  
  
"No they don't. And anyway, running away is going to be a bit hard."  
  
"Nah. We'll do it tonight, now that you've got your letter. A week isn't very long, we'll have to get your stuff."  
  
"Oh..." Tome trailed off. "So.... So, how are we going to do this?"  
  
"After dinner, pack up your stuff while everybody is brushing their teeth. Then take it with you to a bathroom, a private one if possible, and say you're taking a shower. Hide out there until everybody's asleep, then come up to my room. I'll be ready. Can you do that?"  
  
Again, Tome seemed more detached than anything else.  
  
"Yeah. Aucunes inquietudes, right?"  
  
"No worries. Right. Besides, the challenge is the fun part."  
  
"......... Right."  
  
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.. 


	2. Part Two

A/N: I don't own, okay? I guess this is AU. I think we're still on the prologue. .  
  
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That night, surprisingly enough, both made it to the roof (didn't have much, all fitted into a couple of backpacks) without much worry. Or, they chose not to worry about the nurse that they had to knock out... nice woman, sad fate.  
  
"And, err, how are we going to get down from here?" Tome hissed, glancing around. Everything was pitch black. It was a cloudy night.  
  
"Jump."  
  
"Jump?!? You git, we can't jump off of a seven story building at eleven- thirty P.M.!"  
  
"Why not? There isn't a law against it, is there?"  
  
Tome stared hard at her brother. He didn't /look/ like he was drunk...  
  
"We won't get hurt. There's plenty of grass down there."  
  
"Excusé moi? Shall we go over this again? We're both ten years old. It is past eleven-thirty p.m. We are running away. We are on top of a seven-story building. And you would like to /jump/."  
  
"Well... yeah."  
  
"No. We'll both get killed."  
  
Sirius marched over to a window, jerked it open, and pushed the screen out.  
  
"We won't get killed. Not if we accidentally-on-purpose jump. Magic, aren't we?"  
  
Tome marched over as well and looked down at the street below. A few cars were still out on the streets. They were just outside of London.  
  
"No. We'll get kill-AARGH!!!" Sirius pushed her out the window before she could finish her sentence. She grabbed him, and they both ended up falling out.  
  
Our Hero found it rather fun, plummeting off the roof of a seven-story building. Our Heroine did not.  
  
She made a point of screaming all the way down.  
  
However, neither got hurt, it turned out.  
  
Tome's backpack strap got caught on the branch of a tree that hadn't looked capable of bending over far enough to get near the building, and Sirius... bounced.  
  
"There, now. That wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked ten minutes later, having gotten his sister down. Both were now walking towards the city.  
  
"You idiot. Falling out of a window on a seven-story building is not fu-"  
  
"What's with you and saying "seven-story"? Are they the new words of the week?"  
  
Tome chose to ignore him.  
  
Miraculously enough, it only took /all night/ to find the place they were looking for. They entered, foot-sore and tired.  
  
The bartender was snoring face-first in fire whiskey, so they each found a chair, and using their backpacks for pillows, made themselves comfortable enough to sleep.  
  
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"Hey! Hey, young master!"  
  
Sirius cracked one eye open, and stared blankly at the bartender, who was standing over him. It took a moment for memories to resurface, and he sat bolt upright. Relaxed when he saw Tome still snoozing.  
  
"May I ask why you and your friend chose to spend the night here?"  
  
"No. what time is it?"  
  
"seven a.m."  
  
"Oh. Well, can you open up the passageway into Diagon Alley for us? You were asleep when we got here last night."  
  
"Ah." The man frowned, then nodded. "Fine."  
  
"C'mon Tome. Wake up."  
  
She chose not to wake up. Sirius kicked her. She woke up.  
  
"What do you want you bloody git of a prat?" she snarled, getting to her feet.  
  
"Temper, temper. We've got to get your stuff and find a way to get you to school, remember?"  
  
"It's morning."  
  
"Then good morning. C'mon, let's go."  
  
There were very few people there currently, but by the time Our Heroes managed to get out of the bank ("goblins! Gross!" Tome hissed, still grumpy) with a bag full of money each, there were plenty of people. Very few students, if any at all. So they were getting plenty of weird looks.  
  
"Alright. Where's your letter?"  
  
"Where's your sense of injustice?"  
  
Sirius stared hard at her. "Err, if I get you some ice-cream will you stop being mean?"  
  
About an hour later, Tome was sitting next to him, happy with her ice cream while Sirius studied her list, not wanting to mistranslate any of the characters.  
  
"Look, wasn't that nice? They even got a picture of what your things look like."  
  
"But everything's in Japanese. And what about the books? And how will I transport all of this stuff?"  
  
"Mum told us all about this place. They've got everything here. Right, so, uniform first. Are you finished yet?"  
  
"Yeah, but I'm tired."  
  
"We'll get a room once everything's done."  
  
"A bit early for school, isn't it?" Madame Malkin (or so they thought she was) said when they entered her shop.  
  
"My sister here starts school in a week. Japan. See, and her letter even included what her uniform is supposed to look like." Sirius offered the picture to the old witch. She squinted at it.  
  
"Shouldn't you be in Japan, then? Yes, I can make this for you. It'll take a while."  
  
"She got accepted in two schools, and chose this one. Only got the letter last night."  
  
"Ah. Hold still, miss, I've got to get your measurements. It's still a bit strange that somebody from a country so far away would get accepted into a school even farther away. Open robes? Oh, that's silly. Right, light green open robes, short plaited skirt, and the usual Japanese school uniform. Okay, now, I'll be right back. Don't you need a uniform as well? Got a picture of it?" she handed a pair of dragon hide gloves and a hat to Tome.  
  
"Err, no. I'm either going to Durmstrang, Hogwarts, or I'm a squib. Highly doubt the last one, since I bounced when I got pulled out of a window seven stories in the air."  
  
"Well, both those schools start in August, so you won't be getting a letter for a while."  
  
"I'll be sticking around."  
  
The woman went back, here, there, and all around, cutting, measuring, pulling and playing with different fabrics, and after what seemed to be forever, she finally presented Tome (who remained silent) with her uniform, and a couple of open robes.  
  
After paying, they stood outside the shop for a moment while Sirius once again examined his sister's list.  
  
"Okay, right, so, just a bunch of potion ingredients, a cauldron, that's right these Japanese people use brushes and different types of paper and ink. Tut tut tut." He paused. "Alright, we'll handle all the hard stuff first. And we'll get you some quills and parchment ink too, just in case. Over here."  
  
It took a while to get the right kind of paper, and lots of it, and plenty of brushes too. A couple of quills, some parchment, and a small bottle of ink that changed colors as it was used were slightly cheaper than the other things.  
  
Potion ingredients, cauldron, and things like that were easy enough to get.  
  
After a while, the only things needed were the books (needed nine books, all in Japanese! Tome found it relaxing to complain about this.), a wand, and something to transport it all in.  
  
It was on their way to the biggest bookshop that the Wonderful Idea That An Idiot Would Have Thought Up Before Now hit Sirius in the head. He groaned at the stupidity of it.  
  
"What's up?" Tome asked him. "The stuff too heavy? Want me to carry some of it?"  
  
"No, that's not it, but I'd appreciate it if you carried some of this stuff." Sirius grinned a little. "Floo powder, not a portkey! Duh, we were about to go through more trouble than was needed. The address is right here on your letter, so instead of using a portkey to get to your school, you can use floo powder. Oy!"  
  
Tome laughed as they entered the quiet, dark shop. Too many books, Our Hero couldn't help but think.  
  
It turned out that the bookshop did have books in Japanese, and French, and so forth, and they also had things in Goblinish, Elvish, Giantish, and every other '-ish' that one could think of.  
  
That didn't stop the bookkeeper from grumbling to himself as he dug through the back, looking for the particular books needed. And, as everything else seemed to, they costed extra. Our Hero swore under his breath when he finally realized this (they were exiting the shop) and Tome laughed ("if you're going to swear, do it in English so that everybody else can understand, too!").  
  
Getting a wand was short and easy. 


	3. Part Three

A/N: after this chap we'll be going somewhere. Lemme know if you'd like this to be SB/JP plz.  
  
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......... Getting a room was not.  
  
The fact that there were two (needy) ten-year-old twins that weren't completely identical needed a room didn't quite match up to the hundred other (un) needy adults that weren't identical in the least except for the way they dressed.  
  
In other words, the innkeeper figured Our Heroes were a couple of brats and turned them away.  
  
Funny how well over an hour of arguing later he gave in. Everybody else seems to be certain that the bloody nose he had somehow obtained had nothing to do with it.  
  
After making themselves comfortable, they promptly fell asleep.  
  
And slept in. of course.  
  
The next day, both were awake, refreshed, and ready for some brunch since it was eleven o'clock.  
  
After /that/ was taken care of, they sat up in their room on the bed (Sirius had slept in the chair due to his sister's abrupt grumpy mood again), they went through Tome's things.  
  
And ended up spending the rest of the week either wandering around, attempting to memorize Tome's books, and increasing their knowledge of the kanji characters, seeing as they already had hiragana and katakana down rather well.  
  
And, finally, the Dreaded Day (well, not really) came.  
  
"Sirius? Sirius, wake up!"  
  
"W- why? It's," Sirius groggily checked his watch (muggle), "seven in the morning. Go back to sleep."  
  
"No! I can't sleep, I'm too scared!"  
  
"Scared? Hitomeko Black scared?" he seemed more awake now.  
  
"Shh, don't call me that, Dog star!"  
  
"I won't use your full name if you don't call me Dog Star."  
  
"Deal! But I'm still worried, I mean..."  
  
"Err, yeah." Sirius, seeing that he wouldn't be getting any more sleep, rolled over and scrambled about groggily, first pulling on his robes backwards, then trying to shove his head through an arm hole. After a moment, he was dressed the way a proper would-be wizard was.  
  
Tome was dressed to. In her school uniform and everything.  
  
Emerald green robes, kind of like a cross between regular robes and bathrobes. That is, regular robes that were open in the front. A plaited skirt that was black with little emerald green stars on it, that came to slightly above her knees. A black tank top sort of, that came to a tuck-in with an even blacker belt around the loose skirt - there was one medium sized emerald green star on her top right shoulder that had the school seal on it. Something like a sailors' thingmabobber (ever seen a Japanese school uniform? Sailor moon?) that was emerald green with black lines, and came as an emerald green bow in the front and a broach that also had the school seal on it. As the letter regulations said, her hair was the way it was supposed to be. That is, A) not a perm, B) not cut like a boy, and C) in tight pigtails tied with emerald green and black ribbons. Her hair came to just above her shoulders. She wore the knee-high black socks with the emerald green lining and single stripe up each side, and the black shoes that would be taken off anyway.  
  
She looked like she'd been up all night getting ready.  
  
She looked like she'd been up all night period.  
  
"You look..." Sirius trailed off. What with the uniform and all, his sister looked good. What with her anxious face that looked like she'd been traumatized, she looked awful. "You look interesting, Tome."  
  
"I know. I'm just so worried."  
  
"Hey, I'll write to you every day. If I find some more kanji characters we haven't studied, then I'll tell you about them. You know all Japanese wizarding customs. You sure as heck look the part. What else can ya do, mate?"  
  
"We need an owl!"  
  
Sirius blinked. "What?"  
  
"We haven't got an owl! How are we going to write if there's no way to write in the /first/ place?"  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Well, it's something to do."  
  
"Sure, why not." Sirius grinned at her, took his sister's slightly shaking hand, and led her out to the fairly empty streets. They found a food place that was open twenty-four-seven and Sirius helped Tome practice pronunciation, quizzed her on characters, informed her that she was overreacting and forced her to eat. By the time she left the girls' bathroom after that, threw up a little bit, did something to make herself look less bedridden, and had a considerably more replete mood, it was around lunchtime.  
  
After some ice cream, another stop at the bank, and a bit of wandering around trying and failing to avoid the stares they were getting, they found Eeylops Owl Emporium.  
  
"May I help you?" a woman with a tight white bun asked.  
  
"Err, yeah," Sirius starts, glancing around, "We need a couple of owls capable of flying great distances at great speeds."  
  
"What, may I ask, do you mean by that?"  
  
"My sister is attending school in Japan, and I'm fairly certain I'll be staying in the European area."  
  
"Ah. Well, we've got plenty of those fast, loyal birds back here, now, come on!" she turned and disappeared into the back of the shop. Tome blinked.  
  
"A couple?" she asked. "As in, plural?"  
  
"One for you, one for me," Sirius explained, grabbing her hand and pulling her back to where the woman was.  
  
Lots of owls, and not just "owls," big, big, big owls. Thin, big owls. Short, big owls. Big Owls.  
  
"Take your pick, now. They're all friendlier than pie and loyal as well, as all of our owls are."  
  
"This one." Tome said immediately, barely after the woman had finished her sentence. The bird she had chosen was a dark owl, in the dim light too hard to make out what color it was. It was already settled on her arm, and hooted softly.  
  
"Ah, he's a young and new one, just got him last month," Owl Woman said, beaming. "Wonderfully fast flier. Have you chosen yet, young master?"  
  
Sirius furrowed his brow, not exactly liking the expectant looks he was being given. "That one." He said, pointing to a random owl to his left.  
  
"She's not a very good friendly bird, but she's fast," the Owl Woman said, voice faltering. Sirius already had the bird untethered by its feet and his arm sank under her weight. She ignored him, fluffed her feathers, and looked around. "Well, alright. That'll be seven sickles and three knuts for this one, and the same doubled for that one.  
  
About five minutes later, both left with cages filled with a sleeping owl each. They really weren't that big, once out of the somewhat threatening atmosphere. Sirius glanced at his twin and laughed.  
  
"I have to have a picture of you," he said, and bought a camera for just that. It popped pictures out almost immediately after they were taken, and already had them moving as well. "Say something that'll make your teeth show." He instructed once she had her owl on her arm and was standing in front of an empty brick wall.  
  
"Sirius," she laughed, holding her owl up slightly on her arm by lifting her elbow, completely relaxed. A moment later, they were both crowded around the still developing picture.  
  
"You're so cute," Sirius joke, gushing the last word out in a mock baby voice.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now I want a picture of you and your owl!" she snatched the camera from him.  
  
Seeing as his owl was sleeping happily, Sirius just stood by her cage, making faces at his sister until she snapped a picture.  
  
Again, both crowded around the still developing picture, then both laughed. Instead of making faces, the picture of him was just pacing, looking serious and as though smiling seriously hurt.  
  
"I'm showing this to everybody who's stupid enough to look," Tome laughed, placing it in an inside pocket of her robe.  
  
Her face fell slightly as Sirius put the camera around his neck and tucked his picture of her in a pocket.  
  
"Guess I'd better go soon," she said softly. Sirius checked his watch.  
  
"Err, yeah. It's twelve-thirty now, and you've got to be there at five in the morning. Time difference, see."  
  
"Should I go now, then? What time is it in Japan?"  
  
"I don't know." Both froze.  
  
"I think, just to be safe," Sirius hissed, looking around. "We need to pack, quick. C'mon, over here." Grabbing their cages, both ran towards the nearest store, and got a couple of (expensive) bags. They were the size of regular backpacks, except could hold just as much as a trunk. Used up the rest of their money on them, too. Then they ran at top speed back to their room, throwing Tome's things in her bag (which was a pale shade of pink). Then they raced downstairs, to the fireplace, and paused, calming down.  
  
"Right, so, play nice with the other kids, give the teachers hell for me, and for heavens sake, learn a few curses!"  
  
"Yes, sir," Tome took a deep breath, grabbing a handful of powder. "Well, I guess this is it."  
  
"We'll keep a steady stream o letters, now, won't we?"  
  
"Well, yeah." She paused again, made sure her backpack (which, despite it's ability to hold so much, still weighed a significant amount) was secure, and then flung her handful into the fire, which leapt up and roared green.  
  
"Don't be good."  
  
"I won't." Tome gave him a quick hug, before shouting the address (reading it off of a parchment) and stepping in. she disappeared.  
  
Sirius stayed there until well after the flames had died down to nothing. Then, almost numbly, he made his way back up to his room.  
  
He sat down on his bed, and then looked across the room to the dresser, where his owl sat, still sleeping. There was also another owl there as well, sitting on the open window sill. It stuck out its leg, which had a letter tied to it.  
  
And left once the letter was taken.  
  
Sirius allowed himself a small smile. He'd be going to Hogwarts. 


	4. I

A/N: now we're getting somewhere.  
  
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he allowed himself to mope around for a while, reading and rereading his letter, staying mostly up in the room, wondering how Tome was faring. Often, he found himself thinking (almost bitterly?) why he hadn't taken more pictures of her while he had had the chance. The one he did have was the one from the day she had left, and he kept it close at all times.  
  
Yama (which was Japanese for 'mountain'), the name he had chosen for his owl, mostly flew in and out at will, and slept most of the day. Both there was a sense between the two, and Sirius knew that Yama was one Loyal Bird already.  
  
Currently, three or four weeks after Tome had left, he was stroking Yama's head, talking to her.  
  
"......... So, I guess I'd better get my school stuff, huh? There's already a lot of students, they're arriving every day. What do you think, Yama? Some fresh air? You can come out with me if you'd like, it's a little past lunch time."  
  
Yama didn't make much of a noise, just blinked slowly, and then settled herself on Sirius's shoulder.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes. Hey, I know, tonight, would you like to try delivering a letter to Tome? It'd give you something to do."  
  
Hoot. Take that as a yes? Yes!  
  
Picking himself up, Sirius marched out of his room and downstairs, out into the streets. The bank's storage of money was getting almost dangerously low, but he wasn't worried. There was still a fair amount left, which, he figured bitterly, his mother might still be adding to.  
  
Having already figured the place out rather well, getting his things wasn't a problem or time-consuming thing, and Sirius dumped it all back in "his room" and suddenly wondered how he would be getting to the train station. Of course he could walk, but how long would that take? How early would he have to get up?  
  
Sitting down, he pulled out some things, and began to scrawl a letter to Tome. He filled her in on his last few weeks of mopiness, asked her to write when she had a free moment, and send lots of pictures. To make sure she got the point, he got a picture of himself, all of his school stuff, and Yama, and put it with the letter. After securing it tightly to Yama's leg, he informed her where to go three times before letting her take off.  
  
He watched the spot she had disappeared in the sky for a little while, then got up and decided he might as well prepare Hell for Hogwarts.  
  
They'd regret ever accepting Sirius Black into their midst.  
  
And so, by the time he got back into bed that night, he had all of his things packed, plus plenty of every sort of prankster thing ever, and then some. He knew his backpack would be too heavy to lift, but that was too bad.  
  
The next day, after a big brunch, he went out to do nothing, seeing as all he could do was wander around. After a bit he got (and subscribed) for the newspaper (Daily Prophet) and entertained himself by reading through it. Then he got (and subscribed to) the Quibbler, a magazine that had stories so far-fetched they were hilarious.  
  
He wandered around for a bit after that as well. There were a lot of muggles, right...  
  
He stopped, then (with a small smirk), tailed a family of muggles as they went in circles, trying to figure out where to go. They were a family, a mum, a dad, and two girls, one bony and blond, one a little taller than the first, redheaded, and not-so-bony. Oval green eyes looked around anxiously as she and her family crowded around what was, apparently, her letter.  
  
Muggles really were the most hilarious things on the face of the planet.  
  
He marched up and pushed into with them, looking at her letter as well. They didn't even notice him.  
  
"......... be the wrong place." The man was saying, frowning slightly.  
  
"no, this is the right place, I'm sure of it! We followed that man's directions perfectly!" the woman insisted.  
  
"You guys, let's go home. This is obviously a place full of freaks, and this stupid letter was only a practical joke." Said the bony blond.  
  
"I'm afraid to say I might want to side with your sister on this one, Lily dear." The woman said.  
  
Sirius decided now that it might be nice to break in.  
  
"May I be of any assistance?" he asked pleasantly. They all four jumped and scrambled backwards. He blinked and smiled sweetly at them.  
  
"Oh, err, yes, please," the man started hesitantly. "We got a letter saying that my daughter here is a witch, of all things, magical, and to come here... and now I'm afraid we're a bit-"  
  
"-Lost?" Sirius finished, grinning wickedly.  
  
"Y- yeah, how did you know?"  
  
"Oh, I'm a wizard. Magical. I know all about you..."  
  
"You do?" the bony blond trilled.  
  
"You must be a wizard then, right?" asked the redhead, Lily.  
  
Oh, this was much too good. So good, in fact, that all plans of befuddling the poor family before now wasted away. Now he just pitied them. The wicked smile slid off, and he sighed.  
  
"Well, yes, in a matter of speaking. So it's only you, huh? That got a letter?"  
  
"Yeah," Lily said.  
  
"Can I see it?"  
  
"Sure." She handed the parchment over to him, and he read through it quickly.  
  
"oh, that's nice, I'm going to the same school." Sirius announced, handing it back to her. Now he addressed the full family. "If you haven't got an account, it's best you do that first. Currency exchange, too. Here, Gringots is this way." He began leading them, weaving through the crowd, speaking as he went. "I don't know how much you're going to need, you muggles with you mug-"  
  
"Muggles?" the woman asked as they came to a stop in front of the doors to the bank.  
  
"Those are non-magic folk. For example, you are all muggles, whereas - Lily, was it? - Lily is a witch. Read this before you enter." Sirius pointed to a sign, then went inside. He heard the man read aloud;  
  
" 'Enter, stranger, but take heed, Of what awaits the sin of greed, For those who take, but do not earn, Must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors, A treasure that was never yours, Thief, you have been warned, beware, Of finding more than treasure there.' "  
  
the four entered looking somewhat sick and scared. Sirius allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction.  
  
"Be nice to the Goblins." He informed them, then led the way to a free one.  
  
"Yes?" the goblin asked, hissing slightly and narrowing his eyes. He relaxed slightly. "Oh, Mr. Black, it's you. Again. And again. And again. What would you like this time?"  
  
"Shush, you're supposed to be mysterious and scary to muggles," Sirius pointed out, grinning and pointing to the four standing behind him. "This girl here, Lily, Lily whateverherlastnameis, needs an account and currency exchange." Sirius reached behind him and pulled Lily forward. She squeaked, and the goblin leaned forward.  
  
"Hmm, plenty of muggle borns this year already. I've dealt with three already today. Yes, and will you be making another withdrawal from your account, Mr. Black?"  
  
"Not today, I'm still trying to memorize every curse in my DADA book."  
  
The goblin tut-tutted. "Woes and worries lay ahead for the school once you enter it." He said, sitting back.  
  
"You just figured that out?" Sirius backed away. "Right, so, have a nice day Mr. and Mrs. Lily's parents." He said, before turning his back and leaving. He snickered a little to himself as he left to wander around aimlessly again.  
  
That had been somewhat more interesting. 


	5. II

A/N:  
  
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Pretty much nothing else interesting happened. Sirius found some more things to make the teachers at his school wish they were never born, and then obsessed over spell-o-tape for a while. Even completely spell-o-taped his backpack, then did it again with some colored spell-o-tape.  
  
It was interesting!  
  
Ah, well. Boredom does many strange things to a mind already going through withdrawal of the missing of its little sister and owl.  
  
But, despite himself, Sirius survived to the Dreaded Day (well, no, not really) and got up a bit early (just incase!) dressing in muggle clothes (jeans and a black t-shirt that had the picture of a soda can on the back), threw his cloak on (fastening it hastily), dragged his spell-o-taped backpack downstairs (even fitted Yama's cage into it too! It was bilging!), checked out (very little money left), then proceeded to drag his bag out of Diagon Alley, and stopped to rest in the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
There the bartender took pity on him and cast a temporary spell that would lighten his bag up a bit.  
  
Then Sirius took off at a run while the spell still lasted.  
  
It wore off around mid morning, and he was reduced to dragging it the rest of the way to the station.  
  
But he made it!  
  
He stopped at the barrier between platforms nine and ten, and waited patiently for some sort of magic folk to come along and tell him how to get on the train. Or at least find platform nine and three quarters.  
  
Eventually, his waiting paid off. A tired looking boy with brown hair (that was currently messed up) and a woman (attempting to straighten his hair) and a man (shaking his head a laughing) came along. They were decked out in muggle clothing, but what told Sirius that they were magic was that the boy's father had a wand sticking out of his back pocket.  
  
The woman noticed.  
  
"Honey, put that thing away, are you trying to broadcast yourself - hold still, Remmy, I'm trying to get your hair straightened - all over Britain? Muggles everywhere, I wear - oh, hullo there, dear." She almost ran right into Sirius.  
  
"Hi!" he said brightly. "You guys aren't muggles are you? I don't think so. Do you know where the train is? I can't find it."  
  
"Oh, is it your first year? It's Remus's first year, too." She motioned toward the boy, who glanced shyly at Sirius, then continued to swat his mother's hands away from his head. "You just run right through the platform," she grabbed 'Remus' and dragged him through the barrier. Sirius stared after them.  
  
"Cheerio!" the man said brightly, and then wheeled the trunk he had through the wall as well. Sirius stood dumbfounded for a moment, took a minute of pity for Remus (who was undoubtedly embarrassed by his parents), before dragging his bag over to the barrier, leaning against it, and promptly falling through.  
  
On top of a kid standing too close.  
  
"Quite sorry," he apologized, helping her up without looking at her or being sorry. He was more interested in ogling around him.  
  
"Oh, it's alright," the girl said, brushing herself off. Sirius looked at her, then grinned. "Lily! It's me, Sirius, though I don't expect you remember me. we met in Diagon Alley, remember...?"  
  
"Oh, I do! That's right, Sirius, I never got the chance to thnk you for helping us out."  
  
"Mm-hmm," Sirius said distractedly. "Well, see you in school." He left her and dragged his bag over the first compartment, where he threw his bag in then proceeded to drag it down the train, looking for an empty compartment.  
  
There really weren't any empty compartments, and he was still checking (even interrupted a couple of sixteen-year-olds, quite by accident) when the train started moving. Dragging his backpack was beginning to be a pain and tiring, not to say he wasn't foot sore already, and tired, but a nice, quiet compartment was what he needed.  
  
After a while, he found his way to the very back, the very last compartment, which was empty.  
  
Sighing in relief, he played around for a while, and then managed to get his bag in a space where trunks were supposed to go.  
  
Then he collapsed in a seat next to the window, closed his eyes, and ended up falling asleep after studying the picture he had of Tome. He wondered how she was doing, and Yama. Had anything happened to Yama on her way to deliver...? Nah.  
  
When he woke up again, he had somehow gotten his feet up on the seat too, curled with his back to the window. It took him a moment to figure out what had woken him up.  
  
It was Lily, and the boy, Remus. Actually, Remus looked as though he had just been woken up, too.  
  
Then the next obvious logical thought was that after he had fallen asleep, the other two had come in, Remus went to sleep, and now Lily had woken them both up. Or maybe it was the rain beating hard down against the train and windows. It was a thundering roar, and made Sirius wonder how he had slept through any of it. There was nothing to see beyond the blackness of the window.  
  
"Sirius? Oy, are you two awake yet? Night time is for sleeping, you dolts!" Lily gave an exasperated sigh as Sirius gave her a dumb look. Then he saw a woman and a trolly out of the corner of his eyes, turned his head, and saw that was why Lily must have woken them up. He wasn't hungry, so he curled back up shaking his head, listen to Remus say "No thanks." And then his telling Lily what things were and what to get.  
  
Muggles. Truly idiots.  
  
He was almost asleep again when Lily's annoyingly chirpy voice said, "Hey, Sirius, you dropped your picture... ooh, is that your girlfriend? She's pretty!"  
  
He snapped awake and was on his feet within an instant, startling both Lily and Remus. Lily was kneeling in front of him, where he had obviously dropped his picture of Tome.  
  
He took it from her.  
  
"How did you get the picture to move?" Lily asked. "Who is she?"  
  
"The moving picture is... ask Remus. As for who she is, no, she isn't my girlfriends, and her name is," Sirius paused, sitting down again, "Hitomeko Black."  
  
"She's really pretty. I think that she /is/ your girlfriend and your just too shy to admit it."  
  
Sirius was about to snarl back at her, but she had already turned to Remus (who still looked tired yet alert, now) and was questioning everything that a child should know.  
  
Sirius held his sister's picture close, closing his eyes once more.  
  
But, he discovered almost an hour later, he was awake now and wouldn't get back to sleep any time soon. Yawning, he sat up straight, tucked Tome's picture in a pocket, then stood up. "I'll be right back," he mumbled to Lily and Remus, then made his way almost running to the front, where a few kids and teachers were conversing. He ignored them and continued on to the conductor.  
  
"Excuse me, Mr. Train-driver?" he asked, rubbing an eye. "Do you know when we'll be there?"  
  
"Shoo, kid, you ain't supposed to be here," the old man mumbled around the long pipe sticking out of his mouth. "A couple more hours, if this wind and rain keep up. Now get."  
  
Sirius sniffed, and dropped a dungbomb on his way out, then ran a ways before almost collapsing on the floor laughing.  
  
"What's so funny?" asked a voice of a boy, and Sirius sobered, getting to his feet. The boy was already in his Hogwarts robes, and held his wand. He had extremely messy black hair and glasses on over hazel eyes. He and Sirius were the exact same height.  
  
"I just asked the traindriverwhatchymacallhim when we would get there, he gave me a few snide remarks, smoked his pipe, blew some smoke in my face... and I dropped a dungbomb on my way back."  
  
"Hah, really? I was going to go ask when we would get there, too. So, you've got dungbombs, eh? What else?"  
  
"Everything else you can think of."  
  
"Not as much as I have. You ought to get changed, you know."  
  
Sirius glanced down at himself.  
  
"Yeah, I guess. A couple more hours and it's to school we go. By the way," he added, halfway passing the boy, "My name's Sirius Black."  
  
"And I'm James Potter."  
  
"Nice to meet ya."  
  
Back in the compartment he shared with Lily and Remus, the two were munching on what was left of what Lily had gotten, and Remus explained everything he knew about Hogwarts.  
  
"So, let me get this straight," Lily said, ignoring Sirius as he grabbed his bag and began digging through it, searching for his robes. "There are four houses, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryffindor. Am I right so far? Right. Slytherin is where all of the evil purebloods go, Hufflepuff is for the idiots, Ravenclaw is for people who are clever, and Gryffindor is for the brave people. The latter and Slytherin are mortal enemies. Right, so, we get sorted into one of those houses, and that's it, right?"  
  
"Right."  
  
"Well, how do we get sorted?"  
  
"My parents wouldn't tell me. What about you, Sirius? Do you know anything?"  
  
"Me?" Sirius asked, voice muffled slightly as he yanked his robes over his head. "No, I barely know anything about Hogwarts. Just that it's a wizarding school and the headmaster is Albus Dumbledore."  
  
"Really? That's a shame, you probably don't know what house you'll be in, either, huh? Say, are you a muggle born?" Lily asked, instantly interested.  
  
"No, if there's one thing I know about myself, it's that I'm pureblooded all the way back."  
  
"Oh, then you'll be in Slytherin, right? Ask Remus, he knows all about this stuff."  
  
"Do /you/ know what house you'll be in?" Sirius asked, looking at the brown- haired boy. He was skinny, tall, and looked rather tired despite his wide- awakedness.  
  
He flushed. "My mum was in Ravenclaw, and my dad was in Gryffindor, so I expect I'll be in one of them, eh? They're both muggle born. Nobody really knows, I guess. Hey, wait a minute; Sirius, if your pure blood, then how come you don't know anything about Hogwarts?"  
  
Sirius finished tucking his muggle clothing into his pack. "My mum went to, err, went to a wizarding school in Japan even though she was French, and I don't really know much about my dad. I expect he went to Hogwarts, though, eh?"  
  
"I guess."  
  
"Oh, that's sad." Lily remarked. "That you don't know anything about your family. If your mum went to Japan but lived in France, then how did you get into a British school?"  
  
"My mum, I'll have you know, lived in England, and walked out on me in an orphanage a few years ago explaining that she'd never return." Sirius sat down, almost moodily. "So, I'm basically saying that it's none of your business. I'd rather NOT know anything about my family, because I really don't have one."  
  
There was a long stretch of tense silence.  
  
"Then, err, would you like to explain why you just got all naked and dressed in those robes in front of us?" Lily asked at last in a tiny voice.  
  
"We'll be there shortly, best to get changed." Came the soft reply.  
  
"... Oh." 


End file.
